Japan, this year’s chair of the G7, expects Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to dominate talks among the world’s major advanced economies, Japanese Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs Masato Kanda said.
“Sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine will be a top priority at G7 financial leaders’ meetings under Japan’s chair,” said Kanda, who is to oversee G7 deputy-level talks on economic policy this year.
Among other issues at the top of the G7 agenda would be global debt problems, he said.
Photo: AFP
Kanda’s comments came after the US and Germany on Wednesday announced deliveries of top-of-the-line battle tanks to Ukraine, sweeping aside their long-standing misgivings and signaling a new surge of Western support for an expected counteroffensive against the Russian invasion.
In a televised address, US President Joe Biden promised 31 Abrams tanks, one of the most powerful US weapons.
Shortly before, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gave the green light to Germany sending 14 Leopard 2 tanks, a decision that is expected to prompt several other European countries armed with Leopards to send their own contributions.
Although Western countries have already sent Ukraine everything from artillery to Patriot anti-missile defense systems, tanks were long considered a step too far, risking a widening backlash from Russia.
However, with Ukraine gearing up for a counteroffensive to push back increasingly entrenched Russians in the east and south, its allies are now scrambling to send the powerful weapons.
On Wednesday, an official from a European country said his government had approved a shipment of cluster munitions — a controversial weapon that Russia has been criticized for using — to Ukraine, and was awaiting German approval of that transfer.
A UN treaty backed by most Western countries bans the use and transfer of cluster bombs, which spread dozens of tiny explosives, and often continue posing a threat long after a conflict ends.
The latest twist in the biggest European conflict since World War II came as Russian forces tightened the screws on Bakhmut, an eastern town that Ukrainian forces have held for months in the face of mass artillery bombardments and what defenders describe as human wave attacks.
Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Ganna Malyar said that Russia, with its “superior number of soldiers and weapons,” was “trying to break through” in the Donetsk region.
Near Soledar, a frontline town that was this month captured by Russian troops, a Ukrainian unit commander said that his troops were outnumbered.
“They use people as cannon fodder,” he said. “We shoot and shoot and shoot, but after five minutes another wave of 20 enemies is coming at us.”
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
NEGOTIATIONS: The US response to the countermeasures and plans Taiwan presented has been positive, including boosting procurement and investment, the president said Taiwan is included in the first group for trade negotiations with the US, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he seeks to shield Taiwanese exporters from a 32 percent tariff. In Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that he would speak to his Taiwanese and Israeli counterparts yesterday about tariffs after holding a long discussion with the Vietnamese earlier. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of US dollars were wiped off global markets. He has maintained a 10 percent
RSS